Saginaw's Top Catholic Bishop -- Called "Kingpin" by Lawyer -- to Be Named in Philadelphia Clergy Sex Abuse Lawsuit, Reports Indicate

By Justin Engel
The MLive
August 27, 2012

http://www.mlive.com/news/saginaw/index.ssf/2012/08/saginaws_top_catholic_bishop_-.html

Bishop Joseph Cistone was installed in the Diocese of Saginaw in July 2009.

Attorneys plan to name the leader of the Diocese of Saginaw in a lawsuit surrounding clergy sex abuse allegations at his former assignment in Philadelphia, media reports indicate.

Bishop Joseph Cistone earlier this year was not named in any criminal indictments, but lawyers say Cistone and others will be named in a civil case brought on by a former Philadelphia altar boy who claimed sexual abuse in 1992, CBS Philly reports.

“My best description of them is that they were the kingpins,” Slade McLaughlin, a Philadelphia attorney, told the news station when describing Cistone and another former Catholic administrator in Philadelphia.

Attorneys during a criminal trial this year claimed Archdiocese of Philadelphia administrators shredded documents naming priests accused of sexual abuse while allowing one priest to remain in active ministry with the Northeast Philadelphia parish, where the 10-year-old altar boy was abused, media reports indicate.

Msgr. William J. Lynn is serving three to six years in state prison after a Common Pleas Court jury in June found him guilty of endangering children when he was secretary for clergy under Cardinal Anthony J. Bevilacqua.

Lawyers claim Bevilacqua in 1994 ordered the destruction of documents naming 35 priests suspected of child molestation.

Cistone witnessed the shredding while serving as a church official in the Philadelphia area and later lied to a grand jury when he did not acknowledge the documents or their destruction during a previous testimony, attorneys claim.

Cistone, installed as the Diocese of Saginaw’s leader in July 2009, refused to comment on pending litigation, a diocese spokesperson said.

“I don’t think it’s right that those at the top of the ladder can walk away,” McLaughlin told CBS Philly, “while those somewhere in the middle of the ladder are left holding the bag.”

McLaughlin indicated he also plans to name Bishop Edward Cullen, a former bishop, in the civil suit.

The Diocese of Saginaw oversees 109 churches in 11 counties across mid-Michigan, including Saginaw, Bay and Midland counties.

Contact: jengel1@mlive.com